khandor’s sports blog

Last night’s game between the Houston Rockets and the Toronto Raptors served as an interesting benchmark for the on-going development of these two teams.

Toronto Raptors 92
HOUSTON ROCKETS 116

Complete Game Summary 

At the moment:

Toronto is 31-28/.525, 2nd in the Atlantic Division, and 5th in the Eastern Conference; while, Houston is 30-29/.508, 3rd in the Southwest Division, and 9th in the Western Conference.

Both teams played last night’s game without several key players in their respective line-ups, due to a variety of physical ailments/injuries:

Toronto
1. Chris Bosh/PF-C, leg injury [day-to-day] 
2. Jose Calderon/PG, arm injury [day-to-day]
3. Hedo Turkoglu/SF, leg injury [incurred last night]

Houston
1. Yao Ming/C, foot injury [expected to return next season]
2. Kyle Lowry/PG, leg injury [day-to-day]
3. Trevor Ariza/SF, hip injury [day-to-day]

Examining the complete rosters for each team:

is an interesting exercise when considering:

i. Chris Bosh/PF-C becomes an unrestricted free agent this summer;

ii. Chris Bosh is originally from Dallas, Texas;

iii. The relative “NBA talent” base on these two rosters;

iv. The “playoff prospects” for these two teams:

A. This season, and
B. Beyond the current season. 

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From David Aldridge …

Draft preview: Closer look at the shooting guards

From a Raptors’ perspective

If Toronto can successfully trade down from the No. 9 slot, in exchange for a Lower 1st Round Pick and, in the process, pick-up an additional 2nd Round Selection … one Marcus Thornton,

i.e. scored 30 in the NCAAs against Butler and has an NBA-ready body that has scouts comparing him, physically, with a Mitch Richmond.

“He’s a volume scorer,” says one scout. “He’s a little bit wild, a little streaky. When he gets going you can’t stop him. he’ll get six, seven buckets in a row on you quick, from all kinds of distances. But he needs a lot of shots to get a lot of points. A very poor man’s Ben Gordon.”

who is a Top Flight NBA prospect, as a shooter/scorer, in the mold of  Richmond, Gordon, and, yes, Ray Allen, may still be there for them. 

Those who think that Marcus Thornton might struggle scoring at the next level might also be in for a big surprise.

Travailing around the blogosphere there are some individuals with a genuine interest in hearing which specific NBA draft-eligible players yours truly believes SHOULD be on the radar for Toronto come June 25.

As it happens, yesterday on RaptorsRepublic.com, visitors were provided with the name of Danny Green [OG/SF], as someone who fits into this category … available to the Raptors SHOULD they decide to follow the advice of this corner and trade down from the No. 9 slot into one of the lower positions of the 1st Round, or even into the upper part of the 2nd … in an effort to add at least 2 quality [i.e. athletic & skilled, with good upside and solid character traits] players in place of just 1 [perceived to be of a higher calibre among the first 10 picks].

Now, this afternoon, after reading Doug Smith’s Raptors Blog, the good news is that earlier today Toronto worked out at least one other player who this corner also thinks fits into this same category.

The 6 workout participants were Jonny Flynn [PG], Jrue Holiday [PG/OG], Chase Budinger [F}, Damion James [F], Al-Farouq Alade Aminu [F] and Goran Suton [F].

With a 16.6% chance of being right, can you guess which one fills the bill?

Clue #1.
Must be a solid athlete at the position he projects to play in the NBA. 

Clue #2.
Must have adequate length at his position.

Clue #3.
Must have the ability to compete effectively in all three phases of the game.

Clue #4.
Must have sound character with a self-starting motor.

Clue #5.
Must have room to grow as a player [and a person].

If you guessed Jonny Flynn … you’d be incorrect.
If you guessed Chase Budinger … you’d be incorrect.
If you guessed Goran Suton … you’d be getting closer, but still be incorrect.
If you guessed Damion James … you’d be incorrect.
If you guessed Jrue Holiday … you’d be incorrect.

If you said Alade Al Farouq Aminu … you’d be right on the money, but, alas, at least 12 months in advance, as pointed out adroitly by WOW, in the comments section.

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Still, there are several other very good players who would also be a good fit for the Raptors if they decide to trade down in this year’s draft … a few more of whom will be revealed here as the big day approaches.

PS. Just to be clear about this … If he had actually remained in this year’s draft, Al-Farouq Aminu [SF/PF] is precisely the type of player who yours truly believes the Raptors should be trying to add to their current team, to go with Chris Bosh [C] & Jose Calderon [PG], rather than any of the 6 players who the team actually worked out on Friday.

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Related: 

Who should be on the radar for the Raptors in the 2009 NBA Draft